Played my first squash game of 2008 today against a long time squash buddy. Right before Xmas, we played a gruelling match where in the final and decisive game, I fought off triple match point to steal the game and the match.
Today, we had yet another tight match. After being tied 8-8, I got the last two points to take the first game 10-8. During our break, my friend examines the ball and discovers a small hole. I was heart broken to find that my trusty ball was busted. The guy then goes on to say we have to redo the last two points of the previous game. Restart it at 8-8.
WTF.
Now, when it comes to sports, I can get pretty competitive, but I play fair. This was just a friendly game. The previous game was over already, why whine and try to reverse the outcome?!? He argued that the ball was bouncing weirdly in the last two points. No, it couldn't have been some really nice spin that I had put on the ball. I mean.... I played those last two points with the same busted ball too. Jeez.
Anyway, the guy was adamant. I was a bit ticked, but it wasn't worth my effort to argue. I still have a game to win.
I could feel this as one of the turning points in the game - a potential momentum shifter.
Score 8-8.
I lined up in the serving box.
Ready.
Slow swing. Contact. A really high lob serve. Up and over. Lands and dies right into the corner. Textbook execution. One of those serves that I get once in a hundred tries. No chance of return.
Score 9-8.
Slow swing. Contact. Another lob serve, but it was short. Service return catches the side wall and pops out right at the T. Also happens to pop out right to Tochi. I put the ball into the near-side back corner. My opponent just came from there and couldn't turn back in time.
Score 10-8.
A fist pumping moment. My opponent remarks, "That was quick."
I definitely had the momentum in the next game and ended up winning the match 3 games to 1. Maybe it was just me, but thinking back to the incident, I still think he deserves 2 minutes in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. But whatever, in the end, I got the sweetest revenge of all. bwhahahaa.
Skiing in Colorado this winter proved to be quite the adventure.
Eldora
One of the smaller resorts in Colorado, 30 minutes away from Boulder. Visited this park as a training step for the bigger resorts. Nearly half the slopes on the north side were closed, including their "bowl". On the lift up, we saw that they were preparing a slope with machine powder .... >_<. The only open black diamond trail was Corona, which was really really icy. The green slopes chairlift lines for quite long too. We didn't really come to Colorado for this "East coast" style skiing.
Vail
The epitome of Colorado skiing. Drive in on I-70 was not too pleasant. Blowing winds and drifting snow. Having been warned about the exuberant parking, we found out it was $20 for 5+ hours... yeah. At least it was covered parking on a snowy day, so we got some luxury in return.
Took lift up to Mid-Vail village and then onward on MountainTop Express to Patrol Headquarters. Visibility was rather dismal, so we did not get to enjoy the famed panoramic views of Vail.
However, powder was what we were truly here for, and the snow was absolutely beautiful. Blueberry and I decided to attack the famous bowls first and then hit up on the glades by Blue Sky Basin. Even at Patrol HQ, the snow was up past the ankles. Cruising over to the top of the bowl felt like we were gliding across a calm sea of white.
Our first bowl was Sun Up Bowl. A bowl is just really a wide expanse of pristine skiing slope down the side of a mountain. You essentially make your own trail down. This is my first time skiing in true powder down a bowl. Vail was as good a place to do this as any.
The powder was halfway up to my knees now and it feels so weird not being able to see your skis. People had warned me about this beforehand. I didn't have too much problems about not being able to see my skis. However, I had some issues about not being able to see the hidden terrain changes underneath the powder. Hidden snow banks and crevices totally caught me off guard during the first run. Just not being to anticipate the upcoming terrain and having to absorb any sudden changes with my knees led to a couple early spills. After a few tumbles, I soon got the hang of staying on my feet, but the effort was really taxing. No wonder people say it's more tiring to ski in deep powder - I had originally assumed it was the resistance of the snow.
Sun Up Bowl was really fun and we continued to the Teacup Bowl to Blue Sky for some glades. The blizzard had picked up now and we could barely see more than 20m ahead. Came up to this ridge with a slope that would be double black on any East coast facility. I gulped and headed down. Maybe 50 ft down the slope, during a turn, my left ski caught something unexpected and popped off. I completed my turn a few feet further down. Turned around I looked up towards the site of my "crash" and, to my horror, I did not see my ski. It was hidden somewhere in the snow! SL had warned me about the difficulties of finding skis in powder. All the horrors of her stories came crashing back.
I used every technique in the book. The most useful being something I read in Ski Canada magazine on how to travel up a steep slope with just poles. I searched, dug, searched and dug a lot. People yelled advice down to me from the ski lift giving tips on how and where to search. Blueberry and another skier came by to help. After 1.5 hours, I decided to call the search off. It was pointless digging around in the middle of a blizzard. Little wonder why I hate winter caching so much. Since I read someone else's calculations, I did some mental math in my head. $92 for lift ticket, just slightly over 1 run in the day. $92 per run. :(
Called ski patrol to take me down the mountain. Todd the patrol arrived and asked what was going on.
me> Lost my ski somewhere here.
Todd> Use your pole handles and punch the snow like this.
me> I've been searching for the past 1.5 hrs. :(
Todd> Oh man... in this weather?!? We just closed all the bowls.
me> Really!??!
Todd> Yeah, strong winds, low visibility. Too dangerous. I just finished roping off the top of the bowl. Ahhh... here's your ski!!
me> OMG. You're serious!?!
Todd yanks my missing ski out from the snow... 2-3 feet downhill from where we were searching. I had gone through all the scenarios of what to do about my missing ski. Wait till the summer thaw and have Vail send it back to me? Can I replace one ski? What am I going to do about my Blue Mountain season pass? I did not consider the scenario that my ski would be found!!! [After some Google searches, I found guides on how to search for lost skis and even patents for devices to locate lost skis... hardcore!]
I still had to make my way down the rest of the bowl. My body has never been this sore. I was sapped of energy and my confidence was totally shot. Todd essentially took me down slowly by making several passes traversing the entire face of the bowl. Absolutely the most strenuous skiing in my life.
Got to the Cloud 9 trail and Blue Sky Basin. It was so beautiful down here, with nice coniferous trees, gorgeous creeks and trails and bridges to pass over. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time, energy or opportunity to explore.
Back at the top of Teacup Express, I still had to make my way to Mid Vail Lodge, where the gang was waiting. Black Diamond trails were the only routes back. In the freaking blizzard, my fingers were numb from the bitter cold. I was seriously afraid of getting frostbite, so I took the catwalk (strenuous) over to Two Elk Lodge for some healing and rest.
Took a green trail down to Northwood Express afterwards and waited 30 minutes to get on the chairlift. Essentially, everyone who was skiing on the bowls were pushed to this lift. Took Swingsville to Mid-Vail. 30-40 mph gusts were blowing straight up the slope. The winds were so strong that at one point, it pushed me into the hill. I really didn't want to lose any appendages, so I willed my way down to Mid-Vail as fast as possible, despite the searing complaints from my body. That furnace hand warmer thing outside of the lodge was a LIFE saver. It was so good to see the rest of the gang in the lodge. Took the chairlift down to the village to end my first Vail experience.
Vail.... I'll be back (on a nicer day).
Adventures didn't end here. The storm and high winds shut down I-70 eastbound from "mile marker 205 to Eisenhower tunnel" and beyond. Got stranded in Frisco (a mythical town until now) and spent the night in a Red Cross shelter. Not all was lost though, as because of the storm, we were able to see the spectacular landscape of the plains of Colorado along US 24 and the "rocks" near Colorado Springs.
I should mention, we found a lone pinnacle of civilization known as a Pizza Hut in the middle of nowhere. The sun had come out, food was almost at hand. I inexplicitly felt this gush of "happiness". It was almost to the point of giddiness, like that of a happy "ballerina drunk". Part of it must have been the wash of tiredness and the definitive escape from the blizzard that had ensnared us earlier. Freedom and escape. I never felt a sensation quite like this before.
Winter Park
Best day for skiing. Only -19F. Blueberry led me to this blue/black diamond with moguls. First section was alright, but the second half had these huge moguls. I did not heed my own advice - I was "scared" to fall. Took me like 10 minutes to get down. Next went to the glades by Sunset Express. First time skiing through trees. I made it through the first part okay. Later on, there were some mogul like features and I had some trouble making the sharp turns required. At one point, I almost pulled a Teacup repeat, but I managed to catch on and hug a tree for balance. That would have been quite a sight if someone saw.
Blueberry took me to a terrain park. Did my first ever jump and I supposedly landed on the lip of the landing zone. Impact was harder than I expected and I lost control and wiped out. I need to invest in a helmet.
Meet up with Catnipped and Cucumber for lunch and did some green trails as a group afterwards. Was quite a fun experience all around. Definitely enjoyed the skiing a lot more today.
Summary
Colorado was super fun. One of the most adventurous trips ever. I got to truly experience "deep powder" like no one else. Loved the longer trails, the mountains and the snow. An experience to remember for a lifetime.
A continuation of my Shan Dong chronicles. You can catch up on Part I - Qing Dao. Part II documents some of the sights on the way to 濟南.
嶗山 - Mt. Lau
Mt. Lau is a mountain range around 青島 area, also known as "海上名山第一" and "東方阿爾卑斯山" (Alpes in the East). Recognized throughout China and around the world as one of the best sources of mineral water. Thirty years ago, this mountain range was the main source of the water for the citizens of nearby Qing Dao. Nowadays, the rights to the mineral water are owned by QingDao Brewery and Coca Cola. The water is known for its slightly metallic taste and its unrivalled "pureness". Of course, I cannot tell the difference, though having watched 酒是故鄉醇 many years ago and sampled different fine wines, I can certainly appreciate the importance of water. As an aside, Qing Dao's water nowadays comes from filtered Yellow River water.
Mt. Lau was one of the sights I was looking forward to the most on the trip. The saying goes "泰山雖雲高，不如東海嶗", in reference to the strong waves of the Pacific sweeping upon the rocks of Lau. The beauty of the range has been described by many famous scholars and poets over the years. On this trip, I only got to visit a small section of the scenic park - a 3km trail along a river known as "九水十八潭" (Nine waters, eighteen pools). The trail winds along a river through a narrow valley with soaring cliffs on either side. Each "water" and "pool" consisted of impressive rock formations along the river. Most of the locations were worthy of a visit by themselves and I found myself always looking forward to the next location. At most of them, you can easily make your way carefully down to the water's edge.
My favourite part of the hike was around near 四水, where there was a little pavilion on the opposite side of the river. While most of the group decided to hike on, I made the detour by skipping along some rocks to visit the pavilion. I wanted to see what the interior decorations of the structure was like, but it didn't turn out too be that impressive. However, the view was quite spectacular from that side overlooking the river downstream.
Unfortunately, moving as one big group, I did not get a chance to walk the entire trail and visit all nine waters. Only got up to 5 waters and 11 pools. I would have loved to go on, but oh well... :(
On a side note, Mt. Lau is one of the holiest sites for Taoists back in their heydays. The only thing I know about Taoists is 王重陽 and his 全真教 and their "獨門陣法" - 北斗七星陣! The little section of Mt Lau I visited only had one Taoist temple along the way, and it was under repairs at the time, so I didn't get to visit. It would have been quite cool to visit and learn more about their culture and history. Maybe next time.
臨淄中國古車博物館 - Ancient Wheeled Transport Museum
Went to an interesting museum on the way to 濟南. During the construction of the highway connecting 青島 and 濟南 (濟青高速公路), construction workers uncovered fossils of horses and horse carriages dating back to more than 2000 years ago, before the time of the Terracotta warriors. One of the top 10 archaeological finds in China. You literally stop on the side of the freeway, walk down a set of stairs to go under the highway, and you'll see the ancient fossils. A little freaky considering that these horses were drugged then killed for the burial of some rich guy over 2000 years ago.
They built a little museum detailing the history of carriages in China. Interestingly enough, wooden carriages and many advancements such as shock absorbers were developed before the era of palanquins (轎). Palanquins were more comfortable, so emperors and rich people eventually favoured them more, leading to the decline of carriages. As always, military needs really drove technological development. Pretty impressive seeing how far advanced China was compared to the rest of the world in those times.
濰坊 楊家風箏博物館 - Wei Fang Kite Museum
濰坊 - Wei Fang plays the host of a famous international kite festival every year. Scores of kite lovers from around the world invade this small town to showcase the latest and greatest in the art of kite flying. Paper making and its close ties with kite making have been part of the roots of Wei Fang for many centuries.
We took a tour of Yang's family kite museum. We first visited some of the facilities where workers were busy creating ... you guess it... kites. All the kites made by Yang's family kite factory (they been in this trade for many many generations) are hand made. Each kite is tested multiple times to ensure their flight worthiness. If it fails to take off, then the worker who made the kite is responsible for fixing it, or else it comes out of his/her salary. I was really impressed by the level of detail on these kites - the individual layers of colour, the perfection in the bindings, the fragility of the paper. Overall, I came away with a much greater appreciation on the art of kites.
They had this giant courtyard where we saw some workers flying kites. It is quite cool seeing some oddly shaped kites in the air that you'll never expect can fly. The most impressive kite in the museum was this one of the dragon - apparently winner from a past international competition. I bet it would have been quite a sight to see this take to the air.
After kites, we visited this master who has been creating these multi-layer paintings (埠木版年畫) for over 60 years. He was once featured on Discovery Channel too. You start off with these stencils onto which a single colour of paint is applied. Using a brush, the paint is transferred to a sheet of paper specifically at certain locations, as defined by the stencil mask. Each colour has a different stencil. Extreme skill is required to ensure the paper is correctly aligned for each stencil and that the paint is evenly transferred. A typical painting requires at least a dozen paint layers. This master just breezed through the process. I was just thinking, if you hesitate for a split second and misalign your paper by 1mm, your painting would be screwed. I was tempted to buy one of the paintings, but all the good ones were quite pricey.
Saw many more Chinese art, including detailed etchings, cool origamis and paper cutouts, little trinkets and toys. I imagine foreigners would swipe these goods up really quickly.
As we left 濰坊, we passed by the following statue. We were like, "What was that?!?! Brokeback action!?!"
Apparently, the statue commemorates the bonds between the soldier and farmer during the rebellion.
To be continued....
I was installing some software on a linux image over the weekend. During the installation, I ran out of space in my root mount, so I decided to move some stuff to another mount.
I had meant to type:
mv ./lib /opt/lib
instead, I typed:
mv /lib /opt/lib
Since the software I was installing required root access, the latter command actually succeeded. After that, I could only run 'cd' and 'whence'. Most of the other commands didn't work, like 'ls', 'mv', 'ln', 'mkdir', 'rm'. It was so sad, the files were RIGHT THERE in /opt/lib, but I couldn't move it back to /lib.
Anyway, it took three different system programmers two shifts to fix up my boo-boo. Thank goodness for backup images. I felt so horrible.
Everyone else had a good laugh at my expense though...
GCZZZ2. Bruce Trail Hike Event - Caledon Hills Section Part I.
The Bruce Trail is a scenic nature trail stretching over 800km along the Niagara Escarpment from Niagara Falls to Tobermory. This past Saturday, I attempted the first part of Caledon Hills section, which stretches 37.1km.
Day started off with a couple quick caches in the dark. In a moment of carelessness, I got this 2 inch long shallow cut starting half-a-cm from the corner of my eye towards my ear. Eek. Close to losing my eye!
The GPSr routing was kind of useless, as it led me down some side roads that were not winter maintained. Given the snow storm we had this past Thursday, the roads were covered with snow and ice. One section in particular featured a downhill S-curve. I couldn't see the downward slope in the dark, so I approached the first turn a little faster than I should have. I didn't get a chance to equip my car with winter tires yet, so I knew I was in trouble when I saw the second bend. My car slid on the ice. Fortunately, I knew to pump my brakes and was careful not to over-steer. TochiMobile regained control and came out of the turn safely. Afterwards, I realized how close I was to going off the side of the road. The years of winter driving experience do make a difference, and I was lucky to not have panicked during that turn.
Well, that wasn't the last episode for TochiMobile. Met up with Fababoo later at the Trans-Canada trail. Fababoo and I were going to leave our cars at the end of the hike, so we could shuttle people back afterwards. As he got to the trailhead, he slowed down his car. I was behind him going 15km/h. I applied the brakes and TochiMobile skidded again. This time though, Fababoo was in front of me!! In a split second, I decided that bailing out was better than rear-ending someone. Spotted a nice big snow bank on the side and calculated that I was going slow enough to not take any damage. I guided TochiMobile towards the bank. Poof. TochiMobile stopped. Reverse. Vooooom. Vooooom. TochiMobile was stuck in the bank! Good thing Rover3 and Goju were there to help push. TochiMobile was back on the road in no time. Three close calls to start the day.
Team Goju took us to the start of the hike. Met up with the 10 other fellow hikers/cachers and a bunch of paparazzi and fans. Took photos with the official banner and we're off! The hike started off at a nice pace. NorthernPenguin led the way and we passed through some forested regions. Caught a quick glimpse of the hilly badlands. The trail was covered with maybe an inch or two of snow. Didn't really notice the impact of the snow yet.
At one point, we came out onto Grange Sideroad. We looked around and couldn't spot any of the Bruce Trail blazers. Backed tracked a bit to find the trail leaving the driveway we had walked down. Must stay on the trail! Fizbot came by to check up on us. On the downhill slope, his car had a tough time coming to a complete stop. First time I saw car curling!
Passed by some large properties and saw some a couple equestrians coming down the road. Who needs horses when you have your own pair of feet? Pfft. The next point of interest was Devil's Pulpit. A sharp drop of about 100m about 9.5km into the hike. The main descent consisted of a couple switchbacks of steep slopes with cable guardrails and a length of very narrow steps. Pretty glad that I was only hiking down this drop, instead of coming up.
Coming out of the pulpit, we decided to take a side trip to the ruins of some old lime kiln for a cache. I had read that this was a beautiful, little explored area. It is now more accessible since the Bruce Trail Conservatory built a side trail to the ruins. We opted to follow the railway tracks, as it was a few hundred meters shorter than the trail. Branched off the tracks and into the forest. As we emerged from the trees, we came upon the entrance of this trench.
Wow. What an unique area. Stone walls on both sides, with little furnace holes embedded into the wall. A tall square tower rose on the left hand side, which was apparently the chimney for some of the furnaces. I always enjoyed visiting ruins, like Mayan ruins or some of the remains by Austrian countryside. However, these kiln ruins were quite special, as they almost blending in with nature - doesn't have that touristy polished feel to it.
Came back out along the tracks, and crossed the bridge over Credit River. Many tiny islands of ice interspersed the river, making for an amazing sight. I wish NorthernPenguin had his "good" camera and tripod. Would have loved to see what he could have done with an HDR shot.
Moved along into Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. Saw some spectacular trails and scenery, capped off by views of the Cataract Falls. The icicles on the far side of the valley was amazing.
At this point our party of eight hikers had split into two groups of four. I was in the first group. The next section of the trails consisted of some intense uphill climbs, though nothing compared to McGregor [:P]. We were probably about 13km into the hike. The distance was starting to take its toll on my left leg. We crossed along the top of some very spectacular ridges. Reminded me of the days of Ridge Running, though I was in no shape to do any running at this point.
We continued on for another couple kilometers and finally met up again with HikerT, who had left us earlier. She had her car parked about halfway into the hike, as a bail out vehicle. We chatted for a bit and continued down the road. After a few hundred meters, we were stopped by another car, with the familiar license plate NAWTY. "Where are you guys going?" "Err. We're hiking on the Bruce Trail?" "This is not the Bruce Trail." "WHAT?" We had missed the proper trail entrance by HikerT's car. Good thing Nawty arrived just in time!
The terrain changed quite a bit now. Smaller vegetation and open fields became more dominant in this section of the hike. The snow was also getting much deeper, probably averaging about 2-3 inches. Compounded with our increasingly tired legs, our pace slowed down quite dramatically. At first, we were a bit concerned that the second half of the hike had large sections of road. On any other day, we would have definitely preferred the trails over roads. However, today the roads were cleared of snow and were definitely a welcomed relief for our aches and pains.
At one point, the trail map told us we were suppose to following the Escarpment Side Road. However, the blazers led us into a forest off the road. What is this? A new reroute of the trail? Being Bruce Trail purists, my fellow hikers and I did not even complain about the new challenge. The trail went through a pine forest followed by a road section for a kilometer north. At this point, the sun was starting to set, so I decided to put TochiCam away. The blazers led to east across the edge of this farm field. I took one step onto the field and plunged. The snow drifts were up past my knees. I let out a true "Oh My God". A combination of "JEEZ!" and "You've Got to be Kidding Me!" Things weren't getting any easier. The eastward portion lasted for 600m before turning back south. At this point, I said, "If this leads us a kilometer back to the Escarpment Side Road, I'm going to be pissed". Indeed, that was the case. This southward portion was very hard to walk on. The terrain was uneven and my legs shock absorbers (a.k.a. knees) were both shot already. Getting increasingly painful.
Despite the aches, we pressed forward with each of us taking turns leading. The leader would effectively clear a trail making it easier for the fellow hikers behind him. After coming through the next section of hills and valleys, I had commented that "It's so tough seeing those hills and valleys up ahead of you, and knowing how much they are going to hurt." To which Fababoo replied, "I know, but that DETOUR through the farm was so uncalled for!!" No one could disagree.
We followed the road a bit more. Some quick stops for caches. First time I was ever caught searching for a cache. Fababoo and I were scouring around a tree off the road when this van pulled up beside us. "What are you doing? Do you guys need any help?" "We're okay! We're just searching for something we lost on the side of the road!"
After a couple kilometers of roads, we finally hit the final 2.5 km section of trails. At this point, I had no idea the hardest hike of my life was up ahead. The entire section was an uphill battle all the way. My thighs and knees were already screaming in pain and refusing to bend. As the distance slowly dropped, the steps were becoming harder and harder. At one point, I had 700m to go. Normally, I could easily run 700m, but I was just concentrating on one step at a time now. Head down. Left foot forward. Right foot forward. It was quite a relief as we came over the last hilltop and spotted our cars parked on the road below. In Rover3's words, "A special hats off to Fababoo and Tochi for finishing in good spirits as they seemed to really be in great pain for a good part of the way."
We were the first group to finish. Gave a call to the second group and found out they had just entered the last 2.5 km of the hike. We sat in rover3's car to warm up. I had discovered a present that TOMTEC and Telly left for me. TochiMobile now sported a new rear tire cover! I had no idea what that was doing there or what I'd do with it. When I first saw it, I thought someone had stolen my spare tire!
An hour later, we saw two lights slowly come down the road. It was the multicolour1 duo, who we had been separated from in the first couple kilometers of the hike! They were always on the back of our minds and we were glad to see them make it safely, albeit walking on the roads instead of the trails. Another half hour later, the second group arrived. We stayed for a group photo, chatted before parting.
To sum up. My GPSr clocked the overall hike at just 41km. 11 started, 10 finished. Total time spent hiking: 11 hours 36 minutes. Half way towards my BT Caledon Hills badge.
Fababoo summed up the hike the best: "Congratulations to all that made the attempt and to all that made it to the end. You've accomplished something that not many would even dare trying." A definite challenge for both the mind and body. So easy to give up; so great to have persevered.
ETA:
Miscellaneous Charts of interest.
GPSr Track Record:
Elevation Chart:
